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Breakthrough arbitration settlements between Scranton and its police and fire unions that will be up for adoption this week would provide a good deal of certainty regarding city finances for the next five years, officials said.

The tentative settlements, which were reached June 1 and unanimously introduced Thursday by Scranton City Council, address various items such as raises, health care contributions, back pay and staffing levels.

However, how the settlements' various provisions will be paid for remains unknown and forms one of the key backdrops of the ongoing negotiations between Mayor Chris Doherty and council over revising an Act 47 recovery plan.

"Now it's their (mayor and council) job on how to finance it (the settlements)," said fire union President John Judge.

The current contracts expire on Dec. 31, 2014, and the settlements would extend and modify them through 2017. The proposed contracts give the city nearly a year to comply with one of the bigger-ticket items, back pay, said Mr. Judge, adding, "We gave them enough time to figure it out."

Other items, such as paying for damages and attorney fees, must be paid sooner, according to the contracts.

The pacts stem from the landmark state Supreme Court arbitration ruling in October that favored the unions. They have pegged the value of the award at about $32 million and characterized the settlements as having the unions walking away from $15 million of that amount. The administration does not dispute those figures, said Mr. Doherty and city Business Administrator Ryan McGowan.

"It was a good negotiation and everyone worked toward the goal of having to save taxpayers' money," Mr. McGowan said. "We'll have labor peace with fire and police going out to 2017."

Both sides said there was give and take.

Police and firefighters, which currently do not contribute anything toward health care, now would start contributing 3 percent, and the unions also would drop various legal claims that the city failed to comply with contracts and do certain things.

"It's huge. It's a big help," Mr. Doherty said of those concessions.

For health care coverage, police and firefighters would contribute 3 percent of base salary on a pre-tax basis of a second-year employee; and in 2017, the health care contribution rate would rise to 3.5 percent.

The agreements would cap new members' longevity payments at five percent of base salary upon reaching 20 years of service. Longevity payments would remain unchanged for current union members.

Both pacts provide annual base increases of 1.75 percent on Jan. 1 of each year in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The settlements also state they provide for raises ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent depending on years of service.

The contracts also have bringback and no-future-layoff provisions through 2017 for police and fire personnel who were laid off in 2011.

"As much as we fought with him (the mayor) and him with us and he's tried to dismantle us, there's a lot to be said that we were able to sit down and hammer something out - instead of lawyers getting rich" from both sides battling in court," Mr. Judge said. "Now we have a contract in place and now, rather than dealing with courts, it's something we mutually agreed upon. There was really no ambiguity in what either side wanted. It's really a pretty simplistic document."

Neither side is singing Kumbaya just yet, though.

The mayor's decision to unilaterally slash salaries of nearly 400 workers to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour in July 6 paychecks due to the city's cash crunch - and despite a judge's order requiring full wages - made international news.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents 300,000 firefighters and paramedics, including Scranton's IAFF Local 60, blamed the mayor in a full-page ad in last week's edition of The Sunday Times that portrayed Mr. Doherty with a dunce cap and a clown nose. "Mayor Doherty is making Scranton the laughing stock of America," the ad blared.

The unions filed a petition to hold the mayor in contempt of court for the July 6 minimum wages, and a hearing on that petition is scheduled for Tuesday. While an influx of tax revenues allowed for a full payroll to be paid Friday, the mayor has said he could not rule out future minimum-wage paydays if the city is not able to plug its $16.8 million hole in the 2012 budget.

To that end, mayor and council have been deadlocked on revising a recovery plan that would aim to not only plug this year's budget gap, but chart out balanced budgets for the next three years. Both sides have said recent progress has been tempered by setbacks.

A realistic recovery plan is required for the city to be able to secure financing from lenders to get through this year, the mayor said. He has proposed a recovery plan with 78 percent higher real estate taxes over the next three years and a $22, two-year phase-in of a new garbage collection fee.

Council, however, which wants more alternatives to big tax increases, has signed on for a property tax hike only large enough to make the bond payments starting in 2013 - roughly 12 percent - and no more than 10 percent in additional hikes in 2014 and 2015, depending on what money is raised by alternative revenue sources.

To speed up the process, the state Department of Community and Economic Development has offered a $2 million no-interest loan and $250,000 grant to the city, but only if the mayor and council can finally agree on a revised financial recovery plan by Aug. 1 and adopt legislation for it by Aug. 15.

Council President Janet Evans said a main sticking point is the administration's desire to lease the city's parking meters to Scranton Parking Authority to raise some $6 million in revenue. The council majority adamantly refuses such a lease, because SPA would have to borrow the $6 million and the city would have to guarantee to debt, Mrs. Evans said.

Mr. McGowan said that if council does not like administration solutions, council is going to have to come up real alternatives.

Mrs. Evans said she and council solicitor Boyd Hughes have been trying to secure funding to fill the 2012 budget shortfall.

"We have a few interested organizations but I cannot name them or comment further at this time on advice of our council solicitor. I will report to the public as soon as I have solid news," Mrs. Evans said. "In the meantime, however, I've been working on a revised recovery plan in cooperation with the mayor. Council hopes to have it wrapped up by the Aug. 15 deadline, in the event that we do not secure funding from (an) outside source."

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com

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